Regulatory Quality

1
Regulatory Quality Administrative
Simplification

• Update on developments in New Zealand
• Liz MacPherson
• Deputy Secretary
• NZ Ministry of Economic Development

2
Framework for analysis Draft Overcoming Barriers
to Administrative Simplication Strategies
Guidance

• Targeting simplification efforts
• Institutional design
• Tools
• Better regulatory management
• Organisational re-engineering
• New ICTs
• Better information on services and administrative
  requirements
• Coordination of multiple requirements

3
Targeting simplification efforts

• No specific reduction targets as yet need to
  ensure goals are meaningful (reduce gaming) and
  measurable
• Focus on Best in class internationally
• Use of surveys to develop rich picture of
  regulatory/compliance burden
• Trans-Tasman dimension important
• Single compliance for a Single Economic Market
• Looking to participate in Australian Performance
  of Business Regulation benchmarking
• Myth-busting - perception is reality
• Focus on getting out there

4
Institutional design

• Strategic partnership arrangment
• NZ Treasury responsibility for strategic
  coordination of regulatory quality system
• Ministry of Economic Development leads strategy
  for reducing impacts on regulation on firms
  (productivity, growth, innovation, international
  linkages)
• Legislative Design Committee and Legislative
  Advisory Committee good law
• Small Business Advisory Group

5
Better regulatory management

• Flow of regulation
• Improvements to RIA regime significance test
• Independent audit of assessments
• RIA Reference Group self-regulatory
• Regulatory flexibility RIA Reference guidelines
• Stock of regulation
• Systematic Review programme
• Cumulative burden
• Consideration of sunset clauses
• Expert Taskforce on Regulatory Quality
• Regulatory quality law?
• Business Compliance Cost Calculator
• Annual Ease of Doing Business Bill

6
Organisational Re-Engineering

• Best Practice Enforcement Guidelines
  implementation is critical
• Reducing duplication and overlap
• E.g. Inspections one inspector can do
  inspections for OSH, Hazardous Substances,
  Accident Compensation and other issues
• Virtual vs structural
• Companies Office/IRD one stop for business
  registration and tax number

7
Exploiting New ICTs

• NZ status as 1st in world to start a business is
  due to exploiting potential of ICTs
• Improved quality and efficiency of service
  delivery while reducing fees to business
• Single authentication number for engaging with
  government
• Business Portal virtual one-stop shop
• CAVEAT ensure ICTs remain the MEANS not the
  END, and use in simplification strategy is in
  sync with national ICT strategy

8
Better information on delivery of services and
administration requirements

• eBusiness Monthly emails updates on legislative
  requirements, new services, information etc
• Business Portal many individual websites
  already have information on how requirements and
  how to comply . Ambition is to follow Canadian
  best practice re SmartForms
• Small Business Regional Information Seminars
• APEC Ease of Doing Business Seminars NZ and
  Canada as sponsors

9
Coordination of multiple requirements

• NZ currently undertaking detailed cost/benefit
  analysis of Standard Business Reporting
  business should have to report only once. Joint
  MED, Statistics NZ and Inland Revenue exercise.
• Single Business Number looking at trans-Tasman
  approach

10
Conclusions

• Guidelines are useful potential to better link
  key strategy elements with 22 points for success.
• Qualify statements re target setting need to be
  meaningful and measureable. Be mindful of
  incentive effects.
• Some potential overlaps between tools
• Communication!!!!
• Agree with avoiding one-size approach but
  some consistency to facilitate bench-marking
  would be useful.
• No substitute for actual experience get staff
  into businesses to feel the pain